Quetta [Pakistan], February 3 : A study found that 52 per cent of drinking water in Pakistan's Quetta is contaminated with high levels of fluoride, a hidden poison that is causing bone diseases, ARY News reported.
The research was conducted by Taimoor Shah Durrani, a PhD scholar and teacher at the Department of Hydrochemistry at Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), as per ARY News.
He collected water samples from atleast 100 tubewells in densely populated areas between 2022 and 2024.
The study's findings are alarming, as per ARY News, with a significant concentration of fluoride detected in the drinking water.
In 27 per cent of the areas in northwest and central Quetta, the fluoride level was found to be as high as 3.4 mg, exceeding the safe limits.
According to Durrani, the areas with the highest fluoride levels are located in the central belt of the valley, including Sariab, Double Road Mian Ghandi, and Nohisar.
With a population of 2.5 million, the majority of Quetta's residents are drinking this contaminated water, putting them at risk of fluoride-related health problems, as per ARY News.
The World Health Organization recommends that clean drinking water should have a fluoride level of 0.5 to 1.52 milligrams per liter and exceeding this limit can lead to toxicity.
Durrani warned that the high concentration of fluoride is taking a toll on the health of both children and elders, causing symptoms such as reddish-brown teeth in children and knee pain in people over 50. "It is like a slow poison as it is tasteless in water," he said.
The study emphasizes the need for the government to set minimum fluoride levels and install water filtration and treatment plants in Quetta to ensure safe drinking water for its residents. Durrani stressed the importance of checking fluoride levels before consuming water, as high levels of fluoride can have devastating health consequences.
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